Richard Marek (June 14, 1933 – March 22, 2020) was an American writer, editor, and publisher who is best known for his novel ''Works of Genius'' that explores the odd relationships between authors and publishers in the publishing industry.

Life

Marek was born June 14, 1933, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Muriel and music executive and author of classical composer biographies

George Richard Marek George Richard Marek (13 July 1902 – 7 January 1987) was an Austrian-born American music executive and author of biographies of classical composers. Marek was born in Vienna, then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of dentist M ...

. He earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

in 1955 and his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1956. In college, Marek was a member of the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honor society. Marek married Margot Lynn Ravage in 1954. The couple had two children before Marek's wife died in 1987. Marek served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1956 to 1957. During that time he was stationed in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Career

Marek's career in the publishing business began with his positions as an editor at

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

magazine and his work at Macmillan publishing starting in 1962. In 1968, he signed the "

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse o ...

" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. Over the course of his career, Marek was also employed at companies like

World Publishing The World Publishing Company was an American publishing company. The company published genre fiction, trade paperbacks, children's literature, nonfiction books, textbooks, Bibles, and dictionaries,Dial Press The Dial Press is a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bur ...

. Marek ran his own publishing imprint, Richard Marek Books, at Putnam Publishing Group from 1977 to 1981. In 1985, Marek began serving as the president of

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

. As Marek remarked in an online profile, he has been responsible for editing "well over 300 books". Marek's first major piece of writing, ''Works of Genius'' (1987), was a novel that dealt with the inner workings of the publishing industry. The novel received praise from several major publications such as ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and '' The Los Angeles Times Book Review''. Marek's second writing, ''Here is my Hope: A Book of Healing and Prayer: Inspirational Stories of the Johns Hopkins Hospital'', was co-written with Randi Henderson and was published in 2001. He died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

on March 25, 2020, at the age of 86.

References

External links

Richard Marek at the Biography Resource Center

at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

at the Independent Editors Group
Periodical Entries About Richard Marek from the Biography Reference Bank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marek, Richard 1933 births 2020 deaths American businesspeople American tax resisters Writers from New York City Deaths from esophageal cancer